Books

Folio (288 x 205 mm); fully rubricated in a contemporary hand, initials on the first leaf in green and blue; numerous woodcut mathematical and lunar symbols in text; occasional marginal notes; manuscript note following the colophon; early 18th-century German calf binding, spine tooled in gold, joints reinforced. The rare and important first edition of Isidore of Seville's great medieval Encyclopedia, "of infinitely greater importance" (Printing and the Mind of Man) than contemporary incunable encyclopedias, containing the earliest printed map of the world and comprising a singular source of information for natural philosophers, geographers, and navigators of the Renaissance. The encyclopedia was "arguably the most influential book, after the Bible, in the learned world of the Latin West for nearly a thousand years" (Barney). The fine woodcut of the tree of knowledge illustrates Isidore's approach to the organization and visualization of data: by collecting, systematizing and attempting to synthesize all existing knowledge, he was the ideal candidate for the post when in 1997 Pope John Paul II declared him to be the patron saint of the internet. The illustrations in the work include 'A small circular woodcut, diagrammatically representing the whole world'; the first map ever printed (Shirley, The Mapping of the World). Known as a "T-O" type from its shape, the map represents a medieval view of a spherical world and shows all that was known or could be imagined of the world, depicting the three continents - Asia, Europe, and Africa - encircled by ocean and divided by a T-shaped inland sea. In his text, Isidore describes the earth as round: his exact meaning has been debated, but he probably means spherical rather than disc-shaped. The map shows the top half of the sphere, everything else being unimaginably hot and obviously uninhabitable. In his text, he says that 'Across the ocean, beyond the three known continents, is a fourth, unknown to us because of its great heat, at whose edges the Antipodes of fable are said to dwell'. The ocean surrounds the three known continents in the T-O map: although the earth is imagined to be spherical, to go to the antipodes would still involve sailing off the edge. The influence of the map survived through to the beginning of the oceanic discoveries, with all its underlying theory. The medieval Encyclopedia is a text that dates back to the seventh century. It is one of the first of all encyclopedias, covering a range of subjects including geography, architecture, shipbuilding, astronomy, medicine and anatomy, and all sorts of wonders of the natural world. In manuscript form it was the most popular compendium in medieval libraries, and its survival from the Middle Ages through to the age of printing was of great significance as it ensured the successful transmission of much of the knowledge of the ancients into modern times. 'Older and of infinitely greater importance than [the three other chief fifteenth-century printed encyclopedias] is the work of the Spanish bishop Isidore, which is now known under the title of 'Etymologies, or the Origins of Words'. An industrious and uncritical compiler, he supplied factual as well as fantastic information culled from all the ancient authors available to him (and incidentally preserved much material that has since been lost). Isidore thus became the chief authority of the Middle Ages, and the presence of his book in every monastic, cathedral, and college library was a main factor in perpetuating.

The "Etymologiae," also known as the "Origines" or "Etymologies," is a comprehensive encyclopedic work compiled by Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636 AD), a scholar and, later, Saint, who was one of the most influential figures in the early Middle Ages in Europe. This remarkable work is considered one of the earliest attempts to compile a sum of all human knowledge available at the time, in the tradition of Pliny the Elder's "Natural History" and other ancient encyclopedias. The "Etymologiae" is significant not only for its content but also for its impact on the medieval understanding of science, the arts, and the world. This essay will explore the structure, content, and lasting influence of the "Etymologiae," highlighting its role in the transmission of classical knowledge to the medieval world. The "Etymologiae" is organized into twenty books, each dedicated to a different field of knowledge. This structure reflects Isidore's intent to categorize the entirety of human understanding as it was known in his time. The work covers a wide range of subjects, including grammar, mathematics, medicine, law, geography, and theology, among others. Each book is further divided into chapters that delve into specific topics within the broader subject area. One of the defining features of the "Etymologiae" is its etymological approach to the organization of knowledge. Isidore often begins his explanation of a concept with its linguistic origins, believing that understanding the root of a word provides insight into the essence of the thing it names. This method reflects the medieval mindset that language and reality were deeply intertwined, and that names held intrinsic significance. The "Etymologiae" was among the most popular and widely circulated works throughout the Middle Ages. Its significance lies not only in its content but also in its role in preserving and transmitting the knowledge of the ancient world to medieval European scholars. Isidore's work served as a bridge between the classical period and the Middle Ages, ensuring that the intellectual achievements of the Greeks and Romans were not lost to time. In an era when original texts from antiquity were scarce and the ability to read them even scarcer, the "Etymologiae" provided a summary of these works that was accessible to scholars and monks throughout Europe. It was used as a textbook, reference work, and a basis for further scholarly efforts. Its influence can be seen in the works of later medieval scholars and encyclopedists, such as Vincent of Beauvais and Thomas Aquinas. The "Etymologiae" remains a valuable source for modern scholars interested in the intellectual history of the early Middle Ages. It offers insights into the transmission of knowledge across cultures and epochs, as well as the evolution of scientific and philosophical thought. Additionally, the work provides a snapshot of the linguistic and etymological understandings of the time, reflecting the medieval approach to learning and scholarship. Despite its occasional inaccuracies and the limitations of its scope by modern standards, the "Etymologiae" is a testament to the enduring human desire to categorize and comprehend the world. Isidore's endeavor to compile a sum of all knowledge is a reflection of the universal quest for understanding that continues to drive scholarly and scientific inquiry today.